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How much do you know about the 100 greatest events in Canadian history?
Among the greatest events in Canadian history, there are ten with major anniversaries in 2007:
- John Cabot Claims Atlantic Coast - 610th Anniversary - June 24, 1497: John Cabot landed on the Atlantic coast of North America, claiming it for England.
- Insurrection in Lower Canada - 170th Anniversary - November 16, 1837: Governor Gosford issued warrants for the arrest of 26 Patriote leaders on charges of high treason, initiating the events of the Lower Canada Rebellion.
- Ryerson Publishes Report on Education - 160th Anniversary - 1847: Egerton Ryerson published his report on a system of public elementary instruction for Upper Canada that would be a model for English-speaking Canada.
- British North America Act Passed - 140th Anniversary - March 8, 1867: The British North America Act was passed by the British Parliament and given royal assent by Queen Victoria. It went into effect on July 1 joining the colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in one federal union.
- Charles Saunders Develops Marquis Wheat - 100th Anniversary - 1907: Charles Edward Saunders completed the development of Marquis wheat, a fast-maturing variety and greatly extended the area in which wheat could be grown.
- Halifax Explosion - 90th Anniversary - December 6, 1917: At Halifax, the French munitions ship Mont Blanc collided with the Belgian relief ship Imo resulting in an explosion that killed more than 1600 people -- the largest in the world prior to the atomic bomb.
- Battle of Vimy Ridge - 90th Anniversary - April 9, 1917: On Easter Monday, four Canadian divisions and one British brigade captured Vimy Ridge, near Arras, France in a brilliant victory for Canadians in World War I.
- PM Robert Borden Announces Conscription - 90th Anniversary - May 18, 1917: Sir Robert Borden announced his decision in Parliament to implement Conscription that bitterly divided the country along French-English lines.
- Canada's First Nuclear Reactors - 60th Anniversary - July 22, 1947: The NRX reactor, the ancestor of Canada's unique CANDU reactors, "went critical" at Chalk River, Ontario.
- Hunter Strikes Oil at Leduc - 60th Anniversary - February 13, 1947: Vern "Dry Hole" Hunter struck oil near Leduc, Alberta. The discovery began an era of prosperity for the province and spared Canada dependence on foreign oil.
Activity: Teachers should assign students to select three of the events and write a summary of approximately 100 words on each event.
Each summary should address the following essential questions for critical thinking:
- What are some important facts about this event that make it significant?
- Who are some famous people who were involved?
- How can you justify that this event is considered one of the top 100 in Canadian history?
These essential questions are models suggested for student to integrate into their reports. Teachers can modify or create additional questions. Without essential questions to guide them, most student reports will focus on factual information only. This is a leading cause of copy/paste plagiarism because it doesn't require students to generate original thought and critical thinking. Essential questions generally include the words: "how, why, why not, or which is better?"
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